The Beginning of All Things: Science and Religion

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 220 pages
• Published by: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company June 15, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0802807631
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0802807632
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 1 pounds

Product Description
In an age when faith and science seem constantly to clash, can theologians and scientists come to a meeting of minds? Yes, maintains the intrepid Hans Küng, as he brilliantly argues here that religion and science are not mutually exclusive but complementary.

Focusing on beginnings -- beginnings of time, of the world, of man, of human will -- Küng deals with an array of scientific precepts and teachings. From a unified field theory to quantum physics to the Big Bang to the theory of relativity -- even superstring and chaos theories -- he looks at all of the theories regarding the beginning of the univererse and life (of all kinds) in that universe.

Küng seeks to reconcile theology with the latest scientific insights, holding that "a confrontational model for the relationship between science and theology is out of date, whether put forward by fundamentalist believers and theologians or by rationalistic scientists and philosophers." While accepting evolution as scientists generally describe it, he still maintains a role for God in founding the laws of nature by which life evolved and in facilitating the adventure of creation.

Exhibiting little patience for scientists who do not see beyond the limits of their discipline or for believers who try to tell experts how things must have been, Küng challenges readers to think more deeply about the beginnings in order to facilitate a new beginning in dialogue and understanding.

Back Cover Copy
"Many will find it fascinating to see how a distinguished theologian offers his personal contribution to the dialogue between science and theology, writing in a bold and challenging manner and making good use of his wide reading and personal encounters."
-- John Polkinghorne, Canon Theologian of Liverpool Cathedral

"The prolific and inquisitive Hans Küng guides us through the conundrums of Big Bang cosmology, evolution, and brain science, showing how science raises questions it cannot answer. God is the answer. God is a rational answer, based on a faith that trusts. Küng's is a grippingly lucid and insightfully thoughtful addition to the field of science and religion."
--Ted Peters, coeditor of Theology and Science

Reader Reviews
Kung is one of the clearest theologians thinkers writing today. There are a glut of books out there promising to weigh in on some pressing issue that concerns the science/ religion controversy. I personally believe that it is a bogus issue largely fed by the publishing industry. That said, I think Kung's book is one of the few on the subject worth reading. I have read Dawkins and Hitchens and am generally sympathetic with their views. But Kung points out that while science (and history) may have much to say about human beings and perhaps what drives religious movements, it has absolutely nothing to say about God. Kung reminds us of the often forgotten distinction between religious experience and religious organizations. This book lays out the fundamental issue more clearly than any I have encountered.